Transformers:Prime - The return to Earth
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: Some of the Autobots return to visit their friends on Earth, both sides have news the others need to know.
1. Chapter 1

Transformers:Prime - The return to Earth.

Synopsis: Three of the Autobots return to Earth to reconnect with their human friends.

A/N: This story started as just what the synopsis said, but it seems there will be some action later after an unexpected extra plot crept up on me.

This story is dedicated to Improvacon Leah -if you're reading this, you know who you are.

The return to Earth.

Jack was busy serving customers at the drive-in, and surreptitiously eyeing the clock. Ten to nine, his shift was due to end in ten minutes, but as his shift serving ended at nine, on the dot (or a few minutes later if he were in the middle of taking or serving an order, or the person he was handing over to was late,) he usually ended up leaving the building closer to half past.

"Two burgers, two fries, a serving of chicken nuggets, and two sodas", he confirmed as he handed the order over. The customer gave Jack a twenty and grabbed the food, as Jack quickly counted out the change and handed it back, before the driver of the car took off, without so much as a thank you. Jack sighed, and reminded himself he was saving for a new motorbike. The going was slow, but it would be worth it, even if he couldn't hold a conversation with his new ride.

Jack reflected that time seemed to fly by. It had been almost a year since the Autobots had returned to Cybertron, which had been renewed by the portable Omega Lock the Decepticons had created beneath their ship.

Originally created by the Decepticons to suck Earth dry to rebuild Cybertron, the Autobots had managed to use it less destructively to rebuild their home world, but the downside was that the Autobots needed to return to their own world. To be honest, he didn't miss being in danger from Decepticons and other humans, but life without the Autobots was dead dull, even with Jasper needing to be rebuilt completely from the ground up after the attack from Darkmount, (The remains of which had been taken by Unit E and hidden away). He relished when he would be legally old enough to take up Agent Fowler's offer of being a full Unit E agent up, because being a civilian advisory _sounded_ cool, but actually meant he got to do squat.

Jack sighed again, feeling a little melancholy. Add to that, he missed his big metal friends, even grumpy ole Ratchet, and the loud but naive Smokescreen. As a motorbike approached from down the road, for a moment he thought it was Arcee, but as it continued past, he shook his head and addressed the next customer. It was Sierra, riding pillion on the bike of her new boyfriend.

'Hi Jack, two special offer burger meals please," she said. He nodded and put the order through. Jack had always liked Sierra, and had entertained the idea of making a move on her himself, but after a misunderstanding about Arcee, (or to be more exact, her feminine voice combined with her shapely holoform, Sadie) the human girl had moved on and was now with this boyfriend. At least it wasn't Vince the bully; apart from the odd 'hands off' look, the boyfriend mainly seemed to pretend Jack didn't exist. Which was fine by Jack.

"So, Jack, you still hang with Raf and Miko? And how's your Mom doing with her new guy? Is he gonna be your Dad?" Sierra asked.

"Um, yeah, I still hang with them, when I'm not working, and no, I'm nearly 18, so I'm a bit old for adoption," Jack said, trying not to cringe. The least welcome post-Autobot event had been the sudden change in the intensity of the relationship between his mom and Special Agent Fowler. He guessed they _had_ spent several days on the run together, and he knew by experience how that created a bond like no other, but his own past with the Autobots and the plain speaking Government Agent made it feel _weird_. He was glad his mom was happy, his own father had left them of his own volition when he was small, and Jack had little sympathy for him, but his mom deserved a chance of happiness, and if Fowler was the source, then so be it. However, Jack had already made it clear he wasn't planning on addressing Fowler as "Dad" any time soon, if ever.

"Well, give them my best will you?" Sierra asked as Jack handed over their orders and took the money. "See you round, Jack." As her boyfriend drove off, Jack only noticed that his next customer was female, clad in black leather and a black helmet, Jack idly wondered if Arcee had copied this particular rider for her holoform.

"Hello, can I take your order please?" He asked as he side eyed the clock, and noticed his shift was supposed to be over but the person he was handing over to was late, _again_.

"An energon slider and side order of Red Energon fries would be nice, but I'm assuming you're clean out" came the amused voice he'd never thought to hear again. His mouth dropped open as he realised the form he was looking at was Arcee's Sadie. "I'll let Sadie take me round the back and give you a ride back home," she said, and moved off before he could say anything.

The door opened behind him and Paul, the next person on shift, burst in.

"Hey, Jack, I'm sorry man but the roads are murder!" he said, which was Paul's usual excuse. Jack might have believed him if they'd lived in a bigger town, but this was Jasper, Nevada, the back end of nowhere, and even though construction traffic was still going in and out, now that the Autobots and Decepticons were no longer around, there was even less traffic. Usually, Jack would have a word with Paul about it, but this time, he had someone to get to.

He pulled off his hat and apron, and said "Sure, I'll just check everything's in order and I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Paul, having expected a sharp retort, gawped and them smiled as Jack did his checks, and signed himself out. Jack stopped, recalling Paul rode, and carried a spare helmet. "Hey, can I borrow your spare helmet, I'll bring it right back tomorrow," he said.

"Sure, the topbox combination is 4725" Paul said. "Thanks for not making a big deal about the time," he said."

"Thanks Paul, and no problem, Just try leaving a few minutes early, other jobs wouldn't tolerate tardiness,"Jack reminded him, and slipped out of the back exit, where Arcee was waiting.

"Hold on, Arcee, helmet," he said, entering the combination in Paul's bike's top box and taking out the spare helmet and put it on, adjusting the strap to ensure a more snug fit.

"Jack, you won't get a safer ride, you know that," she said.

"Hey, I trust your driving over anyone else's, it's the _other_ idiots driving about I don't trust, and if we can avoid a potential accident involving you breaking cover, or just avoid being pulled over by the cops, that's all the to the good," Jack replied, patting her seat comfortingly. "Anyway, I did promise Mom."

He got on and she took off, and Jack crouched down at her speed, simultaneously nervous of her power and feeling like he was back where he belonged. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are you back here?"

"Visiting, plus I need to clear stuff with Fowler and deliver news. Speaking of Fowler, are you still advisory agents in his department, and is he still living with your mom?" Arcee asked.

"Yes, and does _everyone_ know about that?" Jack asked. "Yes, he is."

"Good, because Bumblebee and Bulkhead want to visit too, they miss Raf and Miko," Arcee said.

"What about Ratchet, and Smokescreen?" Jack asked."

"Smokescreen's back training, he's still young even by our standards, and Ratchet's... just Ratchet. I'm not sure he'll be back, even though he planned to stay." Jack nodded sagely.

"And I assume the Big O is too busy governing and organising, so I won't even ask," Jack said. There was a pause, and then Arcee said "We can exchange more news when we all meet, I don't fancy having to talk about everything several times. There's lots of news, and limited time. Let's get you home and get Agent Fowler appraised of our imminent arrivals."

A few minutes later, Jack and Arcee purred up Jack's drive, and the human boy opened the garage door to allow Arcee to slide in beside his mom's car. It was a tighter fit than it had been, as his Mom hadn't left room like she used to, but then she wasn't expecting Jack to return on a bike that night. He put the borrowed helmet next to his own to return it the next night, and went through to the house.

He courteously knocked on the lounge door before entering when invited, something he'd begun doing once Fowler and June began dating. He had no desire to walk in in the two of them sharing a special moment, or worse, something that Miko referred to as a "pass the brain bleach moment." Fowler had just put the TV remote down, having muted a chattering news anchor on the TV as June said "Hi Jack, how was work? Bill, would you be a dear and put coffee on?" Fowler went out and Jack heard the coffee jug start up. He had to hand it to his mom, she had trained Fowler in knowing his way around the kitchen as well as she had trained him.

"Work was fine, Mom, just Paul was caught up in traffic again," Jack told her, crouching by her for the obligatory peck on the cheek.

"He's always caught up in traffic, he should leave earlier, it's always congested in the evening," June said.

"Mom, this is Jasper, Nevada, not LA, rush hour here is three cars and a few pickups and construction trucks visible on the road instead of one, he's just making excuses," Jack said. "And I did suggest that anyway,"

"We all know it's an excuse, Jack, but you counter his excuses with advice that would work if the excuse was a real situation. That way you can't be accused of not taking his excuses seriously," June said as Fowler came through with three empty mugs dangling from the fingers of one hand and the full coffee jug in the other.

Jack went through to get the milk and sugar as Fowler put the mugs on an even surface and poured a generous serving of the rich black beverage. Jack added a good-sized serving of both milk and sugar to his mug, and left it to cool, even as his mother and Agent Fowler took a mouthful of their coffee without adding either. Jack watched them and pulled a face.

"How can you drink it like that? He asked. "No sugar, no milk or cream, nothing! It's so bitter!"

"I'm a nurse, Jack, we learn to drink it like that when doing nights." His mother said.

"It's like the ideal American citizen, Jack, strong and true," Fowler said. "Anything else conceals that unique flavour. You should try it sometime." Jack forbore to mention that he had already done so, and not enjoyed the experience.

"I'll keep right on concealing it myself," Jack said. "Um, Mom, Agent Fowler, can you come out into the garage please?" he asked. "We have a visitor."

"Well, bring them in, don't leave them in the garage," his mom said.

"It's Arcee, Mom, she needs to talk to Agent Fowler," Jack explained.

"By Uncle Sam's Stars and Stripes, what is she doing back?" Fowler asked. "I thought they were rebuilding their homeworld."

"Come and speak to her," Jack said. "She says she needs to speak to you, and that she has news."

"So that's why you're early back despite your colleague's tardiness," June said, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. Her voice sharpened. "Jackson Darby, did you ride Arcee's motorbike form without a helmet?"

"No, mom, Paul loaned me his spare, go see, it's in the garage next to mine," Jack explained. He put his coffee mug down and led the way, Agent Fowler and his mom followed, still holding theirs.

As they came in, Arcee changed to robot form, carefully avoiding any contact with June's car as she dropped into a crouch mid-transformation. Jack nodded in encouragement, Arcee was so cool. June's eyes tracked to where Jack's helmet sat, and where Paul's spare sat next to it, and she nodded with satisfaction.

"Miss Darby, Agent Fowler, good to see you again," Arcee said. She levelled her blue gaze on Fowler.

"Agent Fowler, can you let your superiors know that a few of us, namely Bulkhead and Bumblebee, and possibly Ratchet if he decides to return, will be on Earth for a few weeks, visiting friends and keeping Humanity updated on what's going on? Once we can all gather together, I'll tell you all more."

"I'll get the authorisation," Fowler said. "When do you need it by, and for how many of you?"

"Bumblebee and Bulkhead will be ready when you are, just add Ratchet's authorisation, and my own, of course, and maybe one or two more spaces without names attached, in case Ultra Magnus, Smokescreen, or even a couple of 'bots who haven't been to Earth decide to drop in." As Fowler's face dropped, Arcee rushed to reassure him. "Don't worry, we'll supervise them, it wouldn't be a bad thing to bring in a couple more to learn about Earth and it's native species." Arcee said.

"I hope not, it was bad enough covering for you when you were fighting the Decepticons," Fowler said. "Although having been subjected to their not so tender mercies myself, I understand there was a need then, but explaining away daytripping Autobots might be harder to justify."

"Then I should give you a little news now," Arcee said. "Starscream is now in charge of a group of disaffected Decepticons, and seeing as Earth is already on his radar, there is a risk he might come back. After all, there are still energon deposits on this world, and possibly more Iacon relics. There are a number still unaccounted for, including the Requiem Blaster and some transforming spears that combine, much like the Omega Keys, into something greater, to name just two. We have people back on Cybertron searching for more co-ordinates, and have vetted them as best we can, but if Starscream _does_ get wind of them, he may well return to claim them. He's already shown a disregard for the welfare of humans, as you yourself know."

Fowler nodded, recalling his interrogation at Starscream's hands - and energon prod - all too well. "Yes, I can see how that would be a concern," he said. 'I'll gain authorisation for you, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and two unnamed 'bots within the hour. I'll add Prime too, in case he does get time off from official duties, even if it's just for a pep talk," he said.

"No need, Agent Fowler, Optimus won't be coming back," Arcee said.

"Well, it's no trouble," he said.

"Trust me on this, Optimus won't be back. I'll explain tomorrow. In the meantime," and here she turned her gaze on Jack, "I am going to power down, I suggest you do so yourselves, but first, Jack, contact Raf and Miko, and arrange for them to meet you here tomorrow, 9.30am your time. Miss Darby, Agent Fowler, is that a good time for you, or should we let the children enjoy themselves with us, and meet you when your shift ends?" This last she addressed to June, who was finishing her mug of coffee.

"I'll be there, you can bet my star spangled shorts on it," Fowler said.

"If for some reason you can't, I think I'll pass on my winnings," Arcee said, sounding amused.

"I'm on a late shift tomorrow, followed by a night. 9.30am is fine," June said. "On that note, we should all get some sleep. Goodnight, Arcee, do you want a blanket or a tarp?" June asked. "It's beginning to get chilly at night. We're in the middle of a desert, it may be scorching hot during the day, but at night, it's a different story."

"It's cold on Cybertron too, but our cold tolerances are different to yours, and this garage is warm by comparison. I'll be fine, but thank you for the offer," Arcee said. "Goodnight, Agent Fowler, June, and sweet dreams, Jack, go power down, I'll see you well rested tomorrow." With that, she ended any further discussion by transforming back into her motorbike form as gracefully as she had come out of it, and turning her headlights off.

The humans took the hint and backed out. As they went back into the house, Jack said "Was that my imagination, or did Arcee just tell me to go to bed?"

"She's your partner, Jack, and in my experience, partners look after partners, including giving them sound advice," Fowler replied.

"For once, I agree with her. Tomorrow may be Saturday and you'll have an evening shift at the burger bar, but you won't be able to lie in, so I suggest heading off to bed now." Jack gave his mom an eye roll, and reached for his coffee. "And don't drink any more of that, or you won't sleep."

"Oh, Mom, he said, wishing he'd taken it in with him like they had.

"June, let him finish the cup, it's decaf, you need your sleep too if you're double-shifting tomorrow," Fowler said.

"That's decaf? She asked. "And you made me decaf without telling me?"

"Partners look after partners, June," he said. "You couldn't tell?"

"No, but I was distracted," she said, as Jack grabbed his cup and drank it down before she could find another reason to stop him drinking it.

"I'll show you a good distraction if you want, June," Fowler said, taking her hand and moving in for a kiss.

"Ew, no, Fowler, Mom, at least let me go upstairs!" Jack said. He put his mug down, kissed his mom on the cheek again, and exited the room hastily.

They both waited till he was upstairs and heard his door shut before bursting into laughter.

"Bill, you really are devious, but well done!" she said.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" He said. "Anyway, who said I was just kidding?" He pulled on her hand again, but she raised a hand to his pursed lips.

"We _do_ need to sleep, Bill, we are getting briefed tomorrow morning," she said, dropping her hand as he pulled back. "We'll have other times for 'distractions' while Jack's at work." As his face fell, she smiled at him.

"It's for your good as well as mine. Partners look after partners, Bill, remember?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Apologies that this is a bit slow moving, this was originally going to just be a reunion fic, but there is going to be some action further into the fic.

Transformers:Prime - The Return to Earth.

Chapter Two.

Jack got ready for bed, then fired off a message to both Raf and Miko. 'Meet at my place 9.30 am tomorrow, double urgent, not even joking!' Although, with Miko, he capitalised 'tomorrow, 9.30am' and 'double urgent' plus a few extra exclamation points at the end to drive home how important it was. He was thankful that it was Friday, that the next day was Saturday, and that everyone should be available to attend. He was glad Raf's mom allowed him Saturdays free, and that Miko had not taken up a job yet, or become obsessed with boys, or girls, or whatever. Just as Ratchet was just Ratchet, Miko was just Miko, and Jack wondered if he should have warned Arcee about this. On the other hand, Ratchet had adapted her cell to call Cybertron within her contract allowance, something he wished he'd taken advantage of before Ratchet upped and left for Cybertron. As a result, he knew she spoke at length to Bulkhead pretty much every day, so not only might Arcee already be aware of this, but Miko might know more about what Arcee was going to tell them the next day than he did.

He hadn't expected a response within five minutes of sending the messages, but he got them. His phone buzzed with two texts.

Raf's read 'Great, will be there.'

Miko's read 'Bulkhead said he's got leave and wants to meet us!Especially me, the newest Wrecker, get ready to call for clean up if any Decepticons turn up! Hope I can borrow the Apex Armor again! SWEET! See you there!'

Jack put his phone down, set his alarm for 8, and read for a bit before turning off his bedside lamp and going to sleep.

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Jack jumped under the covers as his alarm rang, and he slapped it with an open hand to shut it up. He sat up, using one hand to finger comb his bed-head hair out of his eyes (he was so getting a shorter cut when he hit 18!) and flipped the covers back, swinging his legs out of the bed.

Even his mother was (pleasantly) surprised at how, teenager though he be, if required he could be wide awake and with it when he needed to be. Okay, at weekends he usually slept in late, but not this one. He had an important meeting to attend today, and he was more than ready for it.

He ducked into the shower, very careful not to skimp his 'feet, hair, crannies, bits and pits' as his mother put it, or any other area, and scurried out to dry himself, brush his teeth, and be dressed by 8.30. He grabbed his cell and shoved it in his pocket, made himself a quick bowl of cereal, drenched it with milk, grabbed a spoon, and ran through to the garage with it.

"Hey, Arcee!" he said. "The others can make it, they texted me last night," he said. He began eating his cereal rapidly.

"Yes, I got a message from Miko 3 hours ago," Arcee replied, gracefully changing back to robot form. "She's extremely excited at the prospect of meeting Bulkhead again. Apparently he texted her at two this morning to tell her he's coming today."

"Wow, Agent Fowler wasn't kidding when he said he'd get authorisation without putting a time limit on it, was he?" Jack said, impressed, and wondering if when he became an agent he'd hold the same sort of clout. "Um, Arcee, you think if I asked, Ratchet would do to my phone what he did to Miko's? I didn't ask because I wasn't certain it would work, and by the time it became apparent it would, and wasn't causing anyone any issues, Ratchet had gone back. That's why I haven't called you." He felt guilty, and Arcee was quick to reassure him.

"I get it, no call collect from Cybertron. I can take your phone and have it back in a human jiffy, Jack."

"Human jiffys don't have an exact time," Jack said.

"A Cybertronian jiffy is no more than 6 hours, Jack, probably considerably less if your phone is mostly, but not wholly discharged," Arcee said, and Jack could hear the amusement in her tone. He nodded, showing her his cell, that he'd forgotten to put on charge that night and had less than 20% power left. She nodded, holding her hand out, and Jack handed her his cell, feeling a twinge of anxiety about not having it on him. Jack didn't see where she put it but it appeared to be up her left forearm plating.

"I should warn you that apart from being about an inch and a half taller, and having red instead of pink hair, Miko hasn't changed a bit," Jack said.

"Then I consider myself warned, and am grateful that I have you as a partner, Jack. It seems although I didn't get the computer genius, I did get the responsible one."

"Hey, I can be responsible if I put my mind to it!" came a voice from outside the garage door, and Jack almost jumped out of his skin. As he activated the garage door enough to let the crimson haired teen in, he thanked whatever deity existed that Miko hadn't heard the first part of his and Arcee's conversation about her.

"Miko, you're almost an hour early!" he said, both amazed though not surprised at Miko's presence. Miko could, if let be, sleep well into the afternoon, but was obviously so hyped at meeting her Autobot friends again that she had gotten up early for today.

Miko rushed to embrace Arcee, who warily returned the hug.

"Hey, Arcee, are you still 'silent but deadly' these days?" She asked with a smile. Arcee, who had since received a schooling on what that meant on Earth, returned her smile.

"More silent, and more deadly," she replied. "Others smelt it when I dealt punishment."

"Hey, you said the rhyme, so you did the crime," Miko replied.

"Clearing up waste and recycling what's retrievable is no crime, even if it doesn't rhyme," Arcee replied.

"I don't have a reply to that, except that it does rhyme," Miko said. "So, where's Bulkhead?" She asked, as Arcee gave a welcoming wave.

"Not here yet, we'll be meeting at the Unit E building, travelling by GroundBridge on Earth, or SpaceBridge from Cybertron," Agent Fowler said, entering the garage with June right behind him. "Too many vehicles arriving here or there by conventional means will draw too much unwanted attention."

"Which is why Arcee needs to go into disguise so I can take the car out onto the drive to make room," said June.

"Jack and I will be bridged to the Unit E hangar first, followed by Miko and Fowler, and when he arrives, Raf will come through with you, Mrs Darby, you can call Agent Fowler to get a bridge sent," Arcee said. "I last night sent a message asking for Bumblebee and Bulkhead to be at the hangar for around 10.30 am local time. The Unit E coordinates are available to a few people and will given out on a need to know basis strictly," Jack looked at Miko, who nodded.

"Sounds sensible," he said.

"Saa-weet! The team will be together again!" Miko said. "Will Ratchet be there? Or Jacky?"

"We haven't heard anything else from Wheeljack since he took off to hunt rogue Decepticons who might otherwise join Starscream," Arcee said.

"Is that loser still trying to fight against the restorers of Cybertron?" Miko asked, disdain evident in her tone.

"He has enough disaffected willing to join him that his forces are growing, Miko. Don't make my mistake. Don't underestimate him," Arcee said, her face and voice both serious, and sad. Miko immediately reached up to hug Arcee again, which Arcee gently returned. Then Arcee said "Duty calls, Jack, if you would walk me out?" and flipped back into bike form.

As Jack's mom opened the garage door, Jack walked Arcee out of the garage, waited to the side as his mom took the car out, and then walked her back in. He grabbed his helmet as June got out of the car, walked to the garage, closed the garage door, and then Agent Fowler asked "Are you ready?"

There was suddenly a bang on the garage door.

"Hey, let me in, don't go without me, it's only gone nine!" Raf's voice said, sounding slightly panicked. June quickly opened the garage door high enough to let Raf, wearing a new but similar backpack to his old one, in, before closing it against prying eyes.

"Everyone else was ready, so we were going to send everyone ahead and then I would have taken you through," June assured the teen. Miko rushed forward and put her hands on Raf's shoulders. "We wouldn't have left you out, you're part of the team, right?"

"Right," Raf said with a smile, pushing his glasses back up his nose, a nervous habit he had.

"As we're all here now though, we can all go together," Fowler said. He took his radio off his belt and thumbed it on. "Epsilon, this is Fowler. Enter these coordinates and activate the GroundBridge." He rattled off a series of numbers. There was a crackle of static, and then a familiar point of turquoise light appeared and irised open into the distinctive tunnel of a GroundBridge.

"Okay, all, let's go," Fowler said. Arcee retook her robot form and the five humans and single Cybertronian walked through the GroundBridge.

Arcee quickly took over the controls from the soldier as all the humans, except Fowler, endured various levels of queasiness.

"I thought after all the Bridging we did last year, we were immune!" Jack said, trying not not to gag.

"I guess - a year's break - desensitised our systems," Raf said, gasping for breath.

"I hope I don't have to do that too often," June said as she took deep breaths and Agent Fowler rubbed her back.

"What's up with you two? That wasn't so bad," Miko said, seeming to be the fastest to recover.

"Here, have some water," the soldier said, bringing out some plastic cups and a bottle. The humans all took a cup and gratefully drank the water the soldier gave them.

"It's okay, Mom, you get used to it," Jack said. "We did last time, and we'll do so again."

'I'm hoping I won't need to," his mom replied. "After this, I hope I can leave the gallivanting by GroundBridge to the rest of you. I still have work to do that doesn't involve Autobots, or Decepticons, and I hope yours won't involve the latter either."

As the soldier refilled the cups, to grateful comments from the rest of the humans, and then retreated, Arcee moved to stand in front of the seating in the hangar.

"Okay, Team, grab a seat and I'll get you caught up on news before everyone else arrives," she said, and the five humans moved to comply. Once they had settled in, she blinked to focus her mind and began to speak.

"So, first, Knock Out has officially joined the Autobots, and is actually making an effort to learn how to do things the Autobot way, which sometimes differs significantly from the Decepticon way. It'll take time, but Ratchet believes he'll get there."

"How do we know he won't rejoin Starscream, if Starscream looks like he might succeed, given the chance?" Miko asked."

"We don't know, not really, but we do think it highly unlikely," Arcee replied. "However, he did betray Starscream to help us out, when we got back to Cybertron and Starscream engineered a prison break. Starscream holds grudges worse than I do, and you all know I don't forgive easily," Arcee said, and all the humans nodded. "In addition, it seems that Knock Out objects to Starscream quite strongly too, so we think a defection is highly unlikely, although there's always the possibility he could go rogue. However, during the war, what you might term "lone wolves" either stayed out of the fight, or got terminated quickly, so again, possible but not so likely," Arcee explained.

"I guess we should count ourselves lucky it's Starscream leading now, as Megatron is dead," Jack said. "By all accounts, Megatron had some sort of charisma amongst his followers, and could have lured Knock Out back to his side."

"Actually, that's another bit of news you need to know, Megatron isn't actually dead, however, he doesn't appear to pose a threat," Arcee said."

"But - we saw Bumblebee kill him, and making sure of it," Raf said. "How did he survive?"

"And how is he not a threat?" Miko asked.

"That's a very long story, but in summary, Unicron's energy form possessed Megatron's body and brought him back to life, as Megatron had Dark Energon in his system. Unicron, using Megatron's body, which he adapted to suit his needs, made his way to Cybertron from Earth, and came to Cybertron to destroy the core, which legend says is composed of our deity and Unicron's brother, Primus. Unicron raised an army of Predacon Terrorcons from bones in the land beyond the Sea of Rust, and led them in a charge to the empty Well of All Sparks, which led to Primus, and he planned to extinguish Primus' Spark and destroy our world totally." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"Meanwhile, Prime had gone with Wheeljack to retrieve an immensely valuable artefact called the AllSpark, which would be put into the well so the planet could create non-cloned life again. Prime used the special box forged to contain the AllSpark's energy to draw Unicron's energy form out of Megatron's body and trap it inside the box. The box is now locked up in the strongest vault in Iacon, hopefully forever.

You would have thought Megatron's body would either become lifeless or become a mindless Terrorcon shell, but it seems Megatron was actually alive and aware in there, having been trapped and tormented by Unicron, and was still alive and in control of his own body after Unicron was trapped. However, Megatron renounced the Decepticons, and flew off, and hasn't been heard of since."

"All right, so Unicron's no longer a threat, and neither is Megatron?" Raf asked.

"Ree-sult!" Miko cheered, punching the air.

"As long as Unicron remains in that box, he's no longer a threat, but it came at a terrible price," Arcee said, her optics dimming as her head dropped. Jack and Miko both ran over, both concerned, recognising the fembot's unhappiness, and Arcee dropped to a crouch to bring herself to their level. Jack put his hand on one of hers in an attempt at a comforting gesture, and Miko hugged her ankle.

"What happened?" Jack asked. "Optimus saved the day, right? Saved both of our worlds, dealt with two threats, and I assume, as he brought the AllSpark home, Cybertron can live and produce life again? So you won, right?"

"Yes, Jack, we did win, but our victory came at a terrible cost. To trap Unicron in the AllSpark's box, the AllSpark itself needed somewhere to be stored until it could be restored to the Well. To that aim, Prime took it into his chest. However, his own Spark merged with the AllSpark, making the two indistinguishable from each other, and the AllSpark had to be replaced into the Well to allow new life to be created. He had to go into the Well, which he did, and release all the AllSpark, and that included his own Spark. That means he could not return, Jack, he sacrificed himself to allow our world to live."

"What - he's dead?" Jack asked, as Miko said "No way!" and Raf said "No, not Optimus!"

Agent Fowler jumped up. "I know I found running interference for him and his group an irritation at times, but this is a shock to us all. You know you're at risk of losing men in the field, but no amount of knowing the risks prepares you for when that risk becomes a man lost. It's heartening to know that he met his death with a purpose, knowing his own not-insignificant sacrifice was for the greater good." He bowed his head and put his hand on his heart. "He's going to be greatly missed." June was half turned away, wiping her eyes, but then breathed in and stood up straight.

"Even us nurses are upset at a loss, even if it's expected," she said.

"I'm sorry, all of you," Arcee said. "You needed to know. We're all upset, but it's best you find out from me before the others come through, then find out by making a comment meant well but that makes them upset. Bumblebee and Ratchet were especially badly affected, and for a while Bulkhead went AWOL to deal with his own feelings. I'm sorry to be the one to break the news, but someone had to do it."

"Arcee, I'm sorry," Jack said, stroking her hand as Miko murmured her own apologies.

"I wondered why he wasn't communicating with me a while back. You told me to leave it and he never mentioned it again when he returned," she said.

Raf came over, with tears in his eyes, and said "But if his Spark is indistinguishable from the AllSpark, isn't there a chance he'll be reborn again, and what happened to the Matrix? Jack doesn't have the key any more."

"The Matrix is lost to us, Prime told us we'll all be judged by our own actions and abilities, we have a new age ahead of us. We can learn from the memories of the past, but make new memories and a new society based on the present, not on the past. The Matrix knowledge is not entirely lost, the computer Vector Sigma has it all, but unless it wishes to give us the knowledge, there it shall remain." She softened her voice as she addressed Raf's first question.

"Our main belief is that sparks that have lived travel to a realm inside Primus, as energy, like some human religions believe in an afterlife. However, some beliefs involve the Sparks rejoining the Well after a time, in that circumstances, his Spark, or parts of his Spark, could come back in a new Spark. He had to do what he did or leave the planet barren. We had this sort of conversation with Prime, it was he who broke the news to us, he said he had to do it, and he wasn't resentful or scared. The Matrix - our version of Heaven - is supposed to be a wonderful place, so he had nothing to fear, but we must learn to live without him, hard though it be. My advice would be not to grieve the life he has lost, but to celebrate the multitude of lives he has enabled. I believe that is what he would want, I think he would approve."

Agent Fowler came over with his arm around June's shoulders, lending emotional support, and put his free hand on Raf's shoulder. "Remember him, and he's never truly gone, not from your heart and not from your mind. Think of how he would have approached a situation, and if it's applicable to your own, take that approach and learn from him. I found that the best way to deal with my father's death, and I'm passing that knowledge on to you." Raf turned as June put out an arm, and he hugged her as he quietly cried: Jack and Miko looked at each other uncomfortably, not sure what to do or say, so remained silent. After a few minutes, Raf wiped his face and nose with a tissue given to him by June, sniffled a little, and said "So what's next?"

"Take a few minutes to compose yourselves, and wait for Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and anyone else who might be arriving with them," Arcee suggested. "It's almost time."


End file.
